First name origin & meaning: Irish: Sparrows First name variations: Gal, Gallven, Gallvin, Galvan, Galven, Galvon, Galvyn, Galvin Last name origins & meanings:
- Scottish, Irish, and English: nickname, of Celtic origin,
meaning ‘foreigner’ or ‘stranger’. In the Scottish Highlands the
Gaelic term gall was applied to people from the
English-speaking lowlands and to Scandinavians; in Ireland the same
term was applied to settlers who arrived from Wales and England in the
wake of the Anglo-Norman invasion of the 12th century. The surname is
also found at an early date in Lincolnshire, where it apparently has a
Breton origin, having been introduced by Breton followers of the
Norman Conquerors.
- French, German, Polish, Slovak, Czech,
Danish, etc.: from a personal name (Gallus in Latin) which was
widespread in Europe during the Middle Ages, due to the cult of a
7th-century Irish monk and missionary, St. Gall. He established
a Christian settlement to the south of Lake Constance, which became
the monastery later known as St. Gallen. His name was taken into Czech
as Havel and into Polish as Gaweł, the extra syllable
being introduced by analogy with Latin Paulus, which yielded
Czech Pavel and Polish Paweł.
- Hungarian
(Gáll): variant of Gál (see Gal).
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